


Might Not Make It That Far

by WynCatastrophe



Series: Life in Freefall [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Clone Wars (TV 2008)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-13 18:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/506429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WynCatastrophe/pseuds/WynCatastrophe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loss rips into you and drags your heart out on its tide.  But your heart keeps beating anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Might Not Make It That Far

b>Author:[](http://wyncatastrophe.livejournal.com/profile) **wyncatastrophe**  
 **Title:** Might Not Make It That Far  
 **Challenge:** swmininano, persevere  
 **Word Count:** 428  
 **Characters:** Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, OC  
 **Rating:** PG  
 **Summary:** Loss rips into you and drags your heart out on its tide. But your heart keeps beating anyway.  
 **Author's Notes:** ~~Apparently on a mission to prove that ninety percent of everything is crap, I'm back with another ill-conceived installment for the swmininano challenge. Same OC as last time, so if you want to throw a name in the hat, I'll give you a pretty pretty treat. :)~~

 ~~  
~~ **Disclaimer:**   _Star Wars_ and associated themes and characters are the intellectual property of George Lucas.  This story is purely a work of fan fiction, and I am not making any profit from it.  

 

MIGHT NOT EVEN MAKE IT THAT FAR

He can’t breathe. His heart thunders in his chest, trying to beat it way out through his ribs, and he can’t _think_ and

...

and

...

_She’s not there._

Darkness reaches up and drags him under, and he can’t find her anywhere.

___________________________

 

“Anakin!” Someone shakes him, roughly. “Anakin! Stay with me, Anakin. Can you hear me?”

 _Obi-Wan_.

He opens his eyes, not frantic anymore but _hurting_ , engulfed by that sense of loss that’s trying to claw its way out of his chest, worse than when Dooku took his arm because this wound is _inside_ , but Obi-Wan is here and so maybe it’s going to be all right, he can make it better, he can _find her_ , if he just sits up and trusts Obi-Wan, they can fix this together ...

“Where is she?”

Obi-Wan’s face constricts in pain. “She’s gone, Anakin. She’s not coming back.”

_What?_

No, that wasn’t possible, couldn’t be real, she wasn’t _gone_ , she’d never _leave_ him, it was all some mistake. Dooku couldn’t win, he couldn’t kill her. They couldn’t lose this _hard_.

“No,” he chokes. “Obi-Wan, we have to - we have to -”

“Anakin, there’s nothing we can do for her now.”

_No._

But he’d seen the blossoming fireball that took her. No one could have survived that.

_They said the same about Obi-Wan, once._

He gasps and clutches at his Master’s shoulders. “What do we - what do we _do_?”

Obi-Wan’s face is wet with unexpected tears, and suddenly Anakin knows this is real. Obi-Wan wouldn’t be crying unless she were never coming back. Unless her bright light were extinguished forever.

“We persevere, Anakin. We persevere.”

For once, the older Jedi doesn’t bother with any pretense of denying attachment. There’s no point. All they can do now is soldier on.

Anakin turns and vomits onto the cold metal deck of the ship, the convulsions wracking him purging his breakfast - hours ago now, maybe yesterday - and keeping him dry-heaving through his tears long after he has nothing left to give.

 _We persevere_.


End file.
